


Children of War

by DrakenHuntress990, Rael



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Annabeth dies fighting Gaia, Ares hooks up with Sally, Authors Can't Tag, Authors are sleep deprived, F/M, M/M, Most of the Percy Jackson Series didnt happen in our head cannon, Other tags to be added, Percy is Ares' Kid, Soldier Percy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-14
Updated: 2014-11-24
Packaged: 2018-02-08 18:32:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1951725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrakenHuntress990/pseuds/DrakenHuntress990, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rael/pseuds/Rael
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Huntress and are sad to say that we own nothing from PJO. The only things we own are Kylee and the plot.</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Losing it All

**Author's Note:**

> Huntress and are sad to say that we own nothing from PJO. The only things we own are Kylee and the plot.

Twelve immortal beings sat in a vast and lush throne room high above New York City. The year was 2019 and the last five years have been anything but peaceful for the Gods of Olympus and their children.

Five years ago Kronos, Titan Lord and Father to the Eldest Gods, had managed to rise from Tartarus along with a handful of other Titans, starting the Second Titan War. The war had cut deep into the hearts of the demigods. Brothers and Sisters forced to choose sides often ending up on opposite sides of the battlefield. The war claimed hundreds of Demigods and cut emotional so deeply in others that they never truly recovered.

The Second Titan war was a lesson that the Olympian Gods would never forget. Just as they would  never forget as they watched their own children, driven by anger and hatred born of years of neglect, take up arms against them side by side with monster and Titan alike in effort to destroy Olympus.  In the end the Gods were saved. Not by their own power or strength but by a Demigod with more bravery than all the Gods of Olympus combined. Luke Castellan gave his own life to stop the Titan Lord from rising by plunging his dagger into his own body in an act of bravery and sacrifice never before seen by the Gods.

While Annabeth, Percy and Kylee, his sister, were hailed as Saviors of Olympus, they never forgot who made the true sacrifice, and Kylee never got over the heartache at having the love of her life die in her arms.

Annabeth was named the architect of Olympus, given free reign to do whatever she wanted physically with Olympus.

Percy and Kylee were offered a gift that hadn't been offered in almost three millennia the chance to become immortal. To live forever as their father, Ares' lieutenants. They refused the offer in hopes that their reward might be used more productively as a chance for more demigods to be recognized by their parents.

Kylee and her brother were not as simple as most people thought they were, they were actually almost smart enough to rival children of Athena. Maybe not quite as book smart but easily more street and battle smart. They were as inseparable as can be, even for twins.

Their answer was a very bold no. Despite being the young age of sixteen the two children of Ares knew life was only as good as the people you shared it with. Their friends and family, they were mortal, and if they wanted to stay and enjoy life with them then they needed to be as well. If only they had known what would come they might have chosen differently, because in the end it took a primordial goddess to separate the trio.

Annabeth Chase died in the final battle against Gaia.

The battle was lost for Gaia but in a final last attempt she sent her Empusa lieutenant to slay Annabeth as she and Percy were leading the final charge. As the spear broke on Annabeths spine and the twins, fueled by rage and sorrow, dove into the battle as if a machine, the Gods couldn't help but compare them to Achilles, who when faced by his best friend and lover lifeless on the battlefield lost control and destroyed any and all of his enemies. Once over not even their father the great Ares, god of War, tried to comfort his two heartbroken children, seeing how futile the effort would be.

After the battle the forces of Olympus returned to New York and held another ceremony all too familiar to the elder demigods who survived the Titan War, the Burning of the Pyres. Again rewards were offered to the remaining Heros, three of which chose to accept the offer of immortality.

Hazel was granted passage to the Isles of the Blessed seeing as the Gods still had to abide by the ancient laws and nothing short of making her a goddess would change the fact that she was dead. At Hazels return to the Underworld Frank turned and left the throne room knowing that the Gods may have well just shot down his request.

Again the twins chose to turn down the offer of immortality, this time however their choice was not met with anger and offense but understanding and sorrow. When asked if the wanted if they wanted something different Percy asked for Hades and Hecate to have thrones and voices on the council, and Kylee asked for the minor gods to have cabins at camp and for the gods to pay more attention to their children, or at least as much as they could while still following the Ancient Laws. Both requests were met with acceptance.

This was five years ago and neither of the Jackson twins have been seen since that night.


	2. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been five years and the Twins are needed again. Only this time it may very well set their life on a path that could forever haunt them.

It was the Winter Solstice and the council of the Gods had been called to order to discus a growing problem, however Athena was to caught up in her own musings about what could have been with her daughter and the son of the Sea God, to properly devise a strategy to deal with this growing problem.

"Do you have an opinion of the problem?" Zeus asked looking at his daughter, his wisest and most trusted child, hoping she would shed some of her wisdom on what actions needed to be taken.

The goddess looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She was always attentive in their meetings and rarely went without her opinion on a matter being heard. But she had been so wrapped up in her thoughts of the past, she had missed her father's words.

"The attacks on the demigod camps." Poseidon added quickly. "We surely must take action. We cannot leave our children to fend for themselves; not after the last two wars, not after losing so many of them in the past conflicts."

Athena's mind was quick as she remembered the reason they were there. The troubling attacks on both Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter over recent months as well as the strange monster activity, so eerily similar to those leading up to the second Titan War.

"What have the hunters seen in their recent hunts? How have the monsters been acting?"

Zeus looked at his daughter strangely before turning to Artemis. "Could you report what you told us a moment ago now that Athena is paying attention?"

The goddess of the hunt threw a concerned glance at her usually attentive sibling, "Just what we've been noticing over the past few months, no change. They seem to conjugate together more often, rarely being found outside of groupings like those that have attacked the half-blood camps but no reason behind it can be deciphered."

Athena shook off the embarrassment of being caught not paying attention.

"What can we do? The ancient laws prevent direct interference. Perhaps we need to help them with the coordination of their defenses. Other than that, we cannot interfere."

Zeus frowned. He had hoped for a more helpful response but knew she was correct.

"The problem is not with how we can help our kids. The main issue is we need to figure out _why_ the monsters are attacking and acting the way they are." Hermes interjected. "If we can figure out what's going on, then we can help our kids out by letting them know what they are up against."

The council murmured their agreement but they had mentioned this before. The fact was that they were at a loss. Both Gaea and Kronos were not possible. The Titan was scattered to the winds and the earth goddess in a slumber she couldn't hope to wake from for millennia. The other Titans were all accounted for leaving the immortals of Olympus at a loss for what could be the reason behind the organized attacks.

"Why don't you bring the camp leaders to Olympus? We can work with them on the defenses of camp." Athena asked after the silence had gone on long enough.

Zeus looked around the throne room, but when he saw no objections, he nodded to Hermes who vanished from his throne in flash of golden light.

A few minutes later the god of messengers returned with three demigods; a darkly dressed male who looked around maybe eighteen or nineteen and two teens who looked slightly older. One had startling blue eyes, blonde hair and a scar on his lip. The last was an attractive female with dark hair and eyes that seemed to be constantly changing color.

The three demigods bowed to the gods before rising and looking around wondering why they were there.

Zeus opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Athena who was looking at Hermes with confusion.

"Where are the twins?"

The messenger god frowned, "What do you mean? They don't live at camp anymore."

Athena looked to the god seated beside her uncle. Ares merely shook his head.

"They could not bear the memories they had in camp. They left shortly after the end of the war. They are fine but we have not spoken for some time." His voice held a hint of sadness but he knew his children were just trying to separate themselves from their past.

Zeus looked slightly alarmed by this news. "Where is they? Why was I not made aware that they no longer resided at the demigod camp?"

Poseidon glared at his oldest brother, knowing his mind was already wandering to what Percy and Kylee could be up to without his knowledge.

"Like I said, I don't know. The last time we spoke was over a year ago. They needed some time to deal with their losses. I have no idea where they are at the moment." Ares growled

Zeus turned to the three demigods, "Jason, where are the twins?"

The immortal demigod shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. Since they left, no one has heard anything from them. I think that's how they wants it so no one has really looked for 'em."

Zeus' frown deepened. He couldn't help but he disturbed by this news. The attacks against the demigod camps with no explanation behind them and now learning they had lost their two most powerful demigods was too much for the lord of the skies to deal with.

"Well someone has to know where they are, they did not simply disappear!"

The King of the Gods looked around but found no one looking guilty as if they were hiding something.

"Then a quest must be issued or Artemis shall track the twins down." Poseidon and Ares stood up at these words but Zeus held up a hand to stop his brother and son from going off on him. "We simply need to find them. No harm is to come to them, but they should know of the situation at the camps, I find it unlikely they would stay away if they knew their friends were in danger."

"She's not going to find him." Ares growled glaring at his spear

"What?" Artemis growled assuming he meant she was not capable of finding two demigods.

Ares rolled his eyes, "Relax Wonder Woman, you won't find them because you won't be looking in the right spot."

Zeus began to get irritated with the way his son seemed to be saying less than he knew.

"Out with it Ares, I have no patience left for games."

The god of war rolled his eyes again before he closed them. A minute later they snapped open, "You want to know where my children are? Here, see for yourselves."

The war god waved his hand as an image appeared in the middle of the throne room.

At first, it was hard to tell what they were looking at. All that could be seen was a bright light. But the image seemed to back up and a building could be seen. It wasn't a building you'd see in an American city but something you'd find in a Middle Eastern ghetto. The building was just sitting there, no life could be seen in or around it as many of the people in the throne room looked at Ares confused. Before anyone could ask though things suddenly went very active, very fast.

A shadow appeared in a window of the building before there was the sound of a silenced rifle being shot. The window shattered and the shadow seen in it dropped to the ground.

A number of the people in the room gasped but remained glued to the image playing out before them.

Four soldiers appeared from the side of the building, one pulled something from his waist while the other three were crouched against the building. The soldier with something in his hand held up three fingers, then two and on one he tossed something through the open window before a blinding flash went off. When the light faded, the image shifted to inside the building where the door was suddenly kicked in from the outside.

A half-dozen soldiers in camouflage holding assault rifles poured into the room. A door at the other end of the room opened and two men opened fire at the soldiers. One of the soldiers was hit in the leg before his comrades dropped the two enemies.

A soldier walked across the room, checking the room the enemies had come out from.

"Clear!"

Another soldier checked the other room while two more checked upstairs while the others tended to the wounded soldier.

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

The soldiers all returned to the main room as they looked around for something.

"Intelligence said he was here. Maybe it was a bad tip." A female voice said looking at a taller soldier.

The soldier, who appeared the leader, held up a hand. The other soldiers, even the injured one, all went silent, not moving a muscle as the leader looked around the room. He suddenly dropped his hand and walked across the room. He stopped near the wall and looked down. The other soldiers simply watched.

He suddenly opened fire with his rifle, shooting a wide circle in the floor before he stopped. The sound of whimpering could be heard faintly as the room went silent again.

Two of the soldiers walked over to the spot the bullets circled and pulled up some of the floorboards to reveal a small crawlspace, barely big enough for a person. But sure enough, a Middle Eastern male who looked to be in his mid to late forties was curled up in the fetal position.

The two soldiers pulled the man out and searched him. When they removed the handgun, they stepped away as the leader stood in front of the man. The soldier reached up and removed his helmet and visor as a collective gasp was heard in the throne room.

Percy Jackson stood before the man looking very different than he did the last time anyone in the room had seen him. He was a man now, a little over six feet with a good amount of muscle packed on. He looked like he needed a shave but that seemed to make him more appealing in the eyes of the woman in the throne room. Aphrodite stared at the image as her mind raced with the things she could do with his love life or for her own personal enjoyment.

Percy looked down at the man and then at the soldiers he was with. He nodded at them as they removed their helmets as well. Three of the soldiers were unknown to the gods and three demigods but the other three garnered a similar reaction to Percy's unveiling.

The first female pulled off her helmet to reveal short cut brown hair and an arrogant smile as she looked down at the captured male. Clarisse La Rue looked like she had grown up considerably since her days at Camp Half-Blood. Like Percy and Kylee, she had lost her boyfriend Chris Rodriguez in the war against Gaea and decided the memories they shared at Camp Half-Blood were not something she wanted a constant reminder of. Everyone assume she went to live a normal mortal life, and it seemed she had, for the most part.

The second female pulled off her helmet to reveal short black hair and a cocky smirk as she looked at their captive as well. Kylee Jackson looked like she had healed considerably since the last war.

The last figure pulled off his helmet as Jason, Piper and Nico all choked a bit in shock. Frank Zhang, still the chubby cheeked Asian Canadian they remembered stood beside his half-siblings. He looked to have grown taller and packed on muscle as well. His face was still pudgy with a military hair cut but the rest of him seemed to have finally matured into adulthood as he held his rifle, a surprising smile on his face as well as he looked down at their captive.

All eyes in the throne room were on Percy who still stood with a stoic expression in front of the man.

"Surrender," the man said with a heavy accent.

Percy tilted his head to the side but kept his face free of emotion.

The man looked away from Percy's eyes until they landed on his uniform. He noticed the flag patch on his sleeve.

"Canada, you are forgiving nation" he said nodding. "I surrender to Canada."

Quicker than thought possible, Kylee pulled a handgun from her waist and fired a bullet straight into the skull of the man.

Piper and her mother both let out shocked yelps as they watched Kylee kill someone in cold blood.

"Not an option, actually."

The soldiers in the room seemed unfazed by the brazen killing of the surrendering man. They all still had smiles on their faces. Clarisse patted Kylee on the back while Frank took off his pack, setting it down in front of him as he began to dig through it. He pulled something out, a twelve-pack of beer and tossed one to Percy and then Clarisse and then Kylee and then to the other three members of their team. Even the soldier with a bullet in his leg seemed to be in good spirits as he stood with a tourniquet around his wound.

Percy cracked open his beer and grinned, holding up the beverage as the others did the same in a toast to their successful mission.

"Enough." Zeus growled as the image faded away. No one in the room spoke, all unsure what to say.

"What did you do?" Aphrodite snarled

Ares stood up, his face holding genuine indignity, "I didn't do anything to my kids! They are there because they want to be. They're warriors. Soldiers. What did you expect? Being my kid, they get put into war from the age of 12. Now that their 21, you expect them to live a peaceful life as some kind of hippy? The kids are soldiers, I just gave them what they wanted, another war to fight."

Zeus stood up and slammed his master bolt into the throne room floor, "Enough. Hermes, get the twins and the other two. We need a word with them."

Hermes looked unsure. He glanced at Ares whose face was red but he bit his tongue. The messenger god vanished only to reappear a moment later with the four demigods.

The minute their surroundings solidified, Percy whirled around and fired a bullet straight through the forehead of the messenger god. The bullet passed through harmlessly.

"Sorry Perce, that won't work on me."

Before anyone could object, Frank and Kylee put a gun to either side of the messenger god's head.

"True but this one certainly will." She said as she pulled back the hammer on the gun packed with celestial bronze bullets.


	3. Chapter 3

Percy Jackson sat in the Humvee, the bumps in the road sending him up and down as they drove at an accelerated pace down the old cattle trail towards the city. His mind had been focused on the mission at hand when he was distracted by thoughts of the past and how much his life had and had not changed in the past five years.

Five years ago, he was standing side by side the love of his life, his best friend, his Wise Girl in a battle at the foothills of the original Mount Olympus. That was in his life as a demigod, a son of Ares who had led his fellow demigods in wars not just as the Earth Goddess Gaea but also against the Titan Lord a couple years earlier. A war that had begun the moment he and his sister learned they were demigods and were forced on a quest to find Zeus' stolen master bolt and hadn't ended until they were nineteen. The day they watched Annabeth lying lifeless and bloody, an Empousa's spear impaled through her spine.

Other than the end though, it wasn't necessarily a bad life. His old life was just different. It was the kind of life that you read about in fictional books, the kind mortal children wish they had, not knowing what it really meant. They have no idea what it is like to watch your cousin sacrifice herself to save you against a giant metal automaton that should be on your side given the god who created it. Or to watch a girl who hated you with every fiber of her being at the onset of the journey grow to become a close friend only to die at the hands of her own immortal father in order to save a goddess who looked at you like an insect; one who barely recognized your existence because you were born with a dick instead of a vagina until you take the literal weight of the world for her.

The kind of life where you are thrown into an ancient maze, struggling against impossible odds to find an object that is sought after by powerful immortal beings born millennia before your mother was even a thought in your grandparents mind. Or where you were forced to throw yourself into a deadly river in hopes of giving yourself just a slightest of chances to survive a battle against a foe so powerful the gods dared not speak of his name until he was knocking at their doorstep with an army of thousands.

That was his old life though, a life he left behind before finding a new purpose.

The aftermath of the second Giant War had been far worse than the Titan one a couple years earlier. Many demigods had fallen in the final battles at the feet of the original Mount Olympus. Though Annabeth had been the most popular, she was only one of the many who lost their lives on those ancient grounds, the roots of the Olympians.

Returning to Camp Half-Blood, Percy had hoped to put her death behind him, to move to on, perhaps help train the next generation of heroes with Kylee in hopes they could have had better lives than the ones he, his friends and family had.

But it seemed every part of his home held some memory, a painful reminder of a moment he and Annabeth shared together.

He wasn't the only one. Frank Zhang, the chubby cheeked and slightly awkward Asian Canadian who had been a part of the seven who sent the earth goddess into her millennia long slumber felt the same discomfort and pain when returning to Camp Jupiter. He was forced to relinquish him Praetor position, a job given to him when Jason decided his new place was with the Greeks and his girlfriend, now wife, Piper. Hoping for a fresh start, he traveled to Camp Half-Blood, the relations between Greeks and Romans significantly improve after the execution of Octavian who, as Athena had stated, "was a direct and significant contributor to Gaea's war effort, even if his motives were driven by only a greed and lust for power".

Needless to say, not many tears were shed for the auger who had few allies by the end of the war.

Unfortunately for Frank, he found little comfort in his new surroundings. Rather than places with memories of his time with his deceased love, Camp Half-Blood was full of people whom he and Hazel had spent a significant amount of their short time together with.

Neither he, Percy. nor Kylee found much comfort in their lives at Camp Half-Blood. Unsure of what else to do, they contemplated leaving until they found another option in the most unlikely of sources.

It happened in the arena. Percy was trying to help Frank with his swordsmanship which was anything but good. They both shared the bond of losing loved ones and seemed to be drawn to each other due to that and the fact that they had become good friends while on their journey to Greece in the Giant War.

Percy has batted aside a feeble attack from Frank when out of the corner of his eye, he saw Clarisse bidding goodbye to a few of their siblings. Curiosity getting the better of him, he disarmed Frank with a flick of his wrist and approached his often surly sister.

"You're leaving?"

Clarisse let go of their siblings hand and turned to face her sometimes adversary and sometimes friend.

"I need a break. Father gave me some advice and I've decided to take it. I'm leaving for a while. I'll come back in a couple years but I can't be here at the moment."

His curiosity peaked, the son of Ares had pressed on, asking more about her escape plan. It took a while but after talking for a bit, Clarisse and Percy had finally found something that brought them together.

The pain of loss and the desire for something else had given them a common ground, one which led the often stubborn son of Ares to swallow his pride as ask for a favor from his father.

That was what brought the children of Ares to their current location; a seat inside a Humvee, in the middle of Afghanistan. He glanced down at his uniform, the Canadian flag emblazoned on his sleeve. Perhaps not his first choice, but in honor of his fathers fallen love and the mother of one of his best friends, he joined the Canadian military. Ares had created documents for both him and Clarisse showing their Canadian citizenship and the duo, along with Frank enlisted in the armed forces.

The siblings, grew to be closer than thought possible. It didn't take long for their talents to be recognized either. Right out of training, they were selected for Special Forces, something that surprised only Frank who found compared to mortals, he was actually quite skilled in most types of combat, his firearm accuracy surpassing even that of both Percy and Clarisse. Just not Kylee.

Soon enough, the Humvee came to halt, the team exiting and moving towards a nearby building to prepare for their mission.

Their target building was still a few blocks up the street. They team filed out of the two Humvees and quickly moved from the street to a nearby ally where they had more cover from the watchful eyes of the less than troop-friendly citizens. Percy and Kylee took the lead, keeping close to the walls of one of buildings as they hurried through the alleyway, coming to a halt twenty feet from where the alley and road met.

Without a word, Percy held up his hand. He pointed at his eyes and then to the left where six of the soldiers took off to, going through another alley to find a location to provide support. He pointed to the right as another six of the soldiers took off to find good places to provide support and cover for their approach.

Without another word, Percy took off towards the street. The remaining eleven soldiers following close behind. They crossed the mostly empty street before splitting off one block in front of their target building, six heading to the left while Percy led Kylee, Frank, Clarisse and three others to the right.

It took only a moment more before they reached their destination. They moved like a well-oiled machine, their training and skills on full display as their footsteps were silent. Percy and the others stopped and stood with backs against the side the building. They waited for the signal to continue.

Hearing the sound of the silenced sniper rifle followed shortly by the "all-go" signal in his helmet, Percy stood just to the side of the window. He pulled a grenade from his waist and held up three fingers. On one, he threw the flashbang through the window.

Within seconds, Percy was at front of the door. Frank came forward with a battering ram and smashed it open. First through the door was Percy with Clarisse and Kylee right on his heels. The others followed closely behind.

A door across the room flew open as two men with Ak-47s wildly opened fired. The mortal to his left cried out in pain before the gunfire was met with return fire. Clarisee fired two shots into the foreheads of each man with the speed and precision of a skilled marksman.

Percy turned to his fallen soldier, "Zhang, La Rue, Jackson, Bergeron. Clear the building. The four soldiers took off, securing the building as Percy knelt with the other soldier to get a look at the injury.

"It's a flesh wound." The soldier grunted. "I'm fine Cap."

Percy took his eyes off the wound and looked up at his soldier, a slight look of amusement on his face, "You sure about that Côté? You're looking a little white. I'm sure Tremblay here would have no problem looking after that pretty little thing you've got on speed dial while you recover."

The soldier looked over at the other who was tying a tourniquet around his wound with a mischievous smirk on his face. Even through his visor, Percy could see Côté's eyes narrow dangerously, "I'd sooner cut the leg off, _sir."_

Percy bit back a laugh and smiled, "I thought as much. Rub some dirt on it, we're not quite done yet." He stood back up as Clarisse, Frank, Kylee and Bergeron all returned to the room after clearing the building.

"Intelligence said he was here. Maybe it was a bad tip." Clarisse said looking at Percy. The son of Ares closed his eyes for a second, using the blessing Poseidion gave him and his sister, sending out his senses and getting a feel for all the water in the room. He identified the forms of his soldiers and where they were before extending his senses further until his eyes snapped back open.

He put up a hand as the others froze, not moving a muscle. He walked across the room, honing in on the spot before he stopped. He looked back and smirked at his team before he raised his C7 Assault Rifle and opened fire on the floor of the building. He shot a wide arcing circle into the floor before he stopped.

The horrified whimpering of a man could be heard from the underneath the floorboards. Percy nodded with his head as Privates Bergeron and Tremblay stepped up, grabbing the floorboards where the bullets had broken them and ripped them up revealing a small-framed Middle Eastern man curled up in the fetal position in a crawl space that barely fit him.

The two privates pulled the man from his hiding spot and searched him, removing a gun found tucked in his waistband before shoving him in front of Percy who looked at him with an impassive face.

"Is it him?"

Kylee pulled out an electronic device, pulling up a picture of their target, before she grinned evilly.

"Positive identification."

Percy sighed, reaching up and pulling off his helmet. _The heat in this country would take a lifetime to get used to._

He looked at the man with cold green eyes. They held none of the mirth he had shone when talking to his injured comrade moments earlier. No, his eyes were filled with a controlled anger, one of a battle hardened war veteran who knew exactly the type of human being was in front of him.

Frank cleared his throat garnering Percy's attention. He turned, realizing what Frank was asking. He nodded his agreement as Frank and the others also removed their helmets, a short reprieve from the blistering heat of the day.

"Surrender," the man said in heavily accented English.

The captured man looked at Percy fearfully. Though his expression was stoic, his eyes were harsh and unforgiving and forced the man to look down where he saw his uniform. The man seemed genuinely surprised, if not pleased, when he saw the Canadian flag emblazoned on his sleeve.

"Canada, you are forgiving nation," he said nodding. "I surrender to Canada."

To the man's relief, Percy gave him a big smile making him look at the son of Ares gratefully... Before Kylee pulled out a Browning 9mm handgun and put a bullet right between his eyes.

"Not an option, actually." Kylee muttered looking down at his lifeless body with disgust. Long gone were the days when she was a teenage demigod who feared taking a human life. Through two godly wars and now a mortal one, she had learned the difference between killing and killing with purpose. She knew the difference between a person who made bad choices and those who were truly evil. Her conscience was quite clear and would remain the same after her latest kill.

She felt a hand on his back as Clarisse gave her a nod of approval. Frank slipped his pack off and pulled out a twelve-pack that had become a tradition for their team. He tossed Kylee a beer who smiled at her friend.

She cracked it open and held it up, "To the world having one less child-murdering piece of trash in it!"

The others raised their beverages in agreement before they all downed their beers in seconds. Percy crumpled the empty can in his hand still smiling.

"Let's get the fuck out of the sandbox, I think Côté needs to ice his vagina."

The others let out raucous laughs at their comrade's expense before it was halted by a blinding light appearing in the room. They were all forced to shield their eyes before Percy felt the sensation of being grabbed and pulled hard. When he felt his feet under him again, he didn't even hesitate, pulling out his handgun and putting a bullet through the head of his captor.

The bullet passed through harmlessly and Percy's eyes went a little wide when he laid eyes on his captor.

"Sorry Perce, that won't work on me." The messenger god said sounding genuinely apologetic.

Before Percy could object, Frank and Kylee put a gun to either side of the messenger god's head.

"True but this one certainly will." She said as she pulled back the hammer on the gun packed with celestial bronze bullets.

Hermes felt a rare moment of fear as Kylee Jackson held a gun to his head. He could sense the celestial bronze bullets inside the gun, one sitting in the chamber ready to be unloaded into his head. Sure, he was immortal and he couldn't be killed, well not truly killed, but a bullet straight to the brain would undoubtedly send him to Tartarus for at least a decade to reform. He knew he was quick but after what he saw in the image and how quickly Kylee had the gun to his head, he wasn't sure he was fast enough to get away before Kylee pulled the trigger.

Percy looked around the room, realizing where he was and who it was he just tried to shoot and who Frank and Kylee were holding a gun to. He cursed mentally; this was not where he wanted to be.

"Balls," he muttered under his breath. "Stand down Frank. You to Kylee"

Frank slowly pushed the hammer of the gun back and let his eyes finally take in his surroundings. "Oh, shit." "Balls." Kylee repeated

Percy turned to Hermes who still looked a bit frightened, "Lord Hermes, I'm really sorry. We didn't know it was you. You kind of snuck up on us and that is usually not something anyone other than people trying to kill us try to do."

The god of messengers relaxed a little, "Yeah, sorry Perce." He said before turning to Frank and Kylee with a harsh glare. Ares coughed loudly making Hermes give up on scaring them and made his way back to his throne. The war god nodded to his children, proud of the way they handled themselves.

Zeus had watched the situation unfold in a shocked silence. These were not the same demigods who had helped stop Gaea a couple years earlier. They were very different, even without witnessing the scene in the image, the way they carried themselves had changed very much since the war with the earth goddess.

Percy looked around the room noticing all the Olympians were in attendance and even some of his old friends as he got a feeling he was not going to like the reason he was here. He found his father looking at him worriedly. He gave him a small smile that the sea god returned but it looked almost forced.

"Did we do something wrong?" Clarisse finally asked, annoyed at being kidnapped from their lives by the gods who only called when they wanted something.

"Well, you did just kill some poor guy in cold blood," Aphrodite said giving Clarisse a slightly distasteful look, "but that is not why you are here."

"What? You were watching us?" Kyle asked incredulously. The Olympians just looked at him strangely. She acted so very different than the girl who had returned Zeus' bolt all those years ago. "And for your information, you're quite wrong Lady Aphrodite. I suggest you not pass judgment unless you know what it is your speaking about." She said a little bitterly.

The love goddess looked taken aback but before she could speak, Ares snapped his fingers as an image again appeared in the middle of the throne room.

In the image, a man, the same man they had seen Kylee shoot in the head just moments earlier, drove a rusty jeep down the dusty streets of a city. The gods watched curiously as they watched the jeep pull up to a busy marketplace.

The man stepped out and opened the back door where two small children filed out, a young boy and girl, neither older than five or six. The man grabbed two backpacks from the vehicle and helped the children put them on. After exchanging a few words, he kissed both children on the heads before shooing them off into the market. The man got back in the jeep, started the vehicle up and put it in gear. As he pulled away from the market, he reached over to the passenger seat and grabbed something.

In his hand was a small remote which his fiddled with before the sounds of an explosion could be heard plain as day. In the rear view mirror, a billowing column of smoke, fire and debris could be seen clear as day.

Ares snapped his fingers again as the image disappeared, most of the room looking shocked at what they just witnessed.

"So, with all due respect, my lady," Percy said in a cold tone. "Please do not attempt to pass judgment on something you know nothing about, especially without looking at the skeletons in your own closet first."

Aphrodite's mouth hung open, unsure of how to even respond to his harsh but accurate words.

"Um," Frank said a little awkwardly. "No disrespect or anything my lords and ladies but can we leave? We were sort of in the middle of something when you grabbed us."

"Or could you at least let us know why we're here?" Percy added having no wish to get on the bad side of the gods, especially Zeus, at the moment.

"They wouldn't let it go." Ares grunted. "They were going to send the hunters after you so I just showed them you were busy."

"For what?" Percy asked looking at the gods in disbelief.

"Not to kill you, son." Ares explained. "We just needed to find you."

"And what? The telephone has gone out of style? I'm really not that hard to get ahold of. All you had to do was ask Mom how to get into contact with me. I wasn't hiding. I just have a life, one you've ripped me out of for a reason no one seems to want to tell me."

"Camp Half-Blood." Zeus snapped, his irritation with Kylee's apparent lack of fear getting on his nerves. "There have been attacks on both camps over the past months. The campers have suffered losses and they could use experienced demigods in their midst."

The effect was immediate as Percy's, Kylee's and Clarisse's expressions darkened. They exchanged a look along with Frank before Percy shook his head.

"We can't do that." Most of the room looked at him in disbelief. "Camp isn't our life anymore. We have our own responsibilities and duties to attend to. I truly am sorry but we left that part of our lives and, while the world of monsters and whatnot may never leave us completely, we won't go back."

The throne room was eerily silent. No one thought he would be so quick to reject the prospect of helping the camp.

"You would deny a request from the gods?" Zeus asked with a slight edge to his voice.

Percy's eyes snapped to the King of the Gods. His expression was harsh before a laugh escaped his lips. Most of the room looked at him like he was insane. Before Zeus could snap, Percy spoke.

"Or what, you'll kill us? Do you not see the lives we live? We could die tomorrow and you know what, we're okay with that. What happens if we die? We go to the Underworld where we get to see all the people we lost. But if we do die, it's going to be on our terms, certainly not yours. Not anymore. Not after everything we've done for Olympus. We served our time, My sister and I were your errand runners, your little heroes for close to a decade. Our livers are ours now and if you can't deal with that, strike us down here and now. I promise we have no fear of death."

Zeus and the other gods stared at Percy in disbelief. It was clear he no longer feared them and had no intention of doing anything he didn't want to.

Zeus' arm tensed as he thought about going to his bolt but a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"You'd be bloody and dead on the floor before you ever had the chance."

He looked over to find his son and youngest brother staring at him with such seriousness that he dared not make a move.

The throne room was suddenly full of tension. No one expected the meeting to go this way but apparently Percy Jackson and his friends had had their fill of being a tool for the gods.

"Will you not do anything? For the ones you left behind, the ones who don't have the experience you have?" The words had come from Athena who had seen the way Percy looked at every other Olympian other than her.

For the first time since arriving in the throne room, Percy looked into the piercing grey eyes of the goddess of wisdom. He knew what he would find in those eyes; pain. The same startlingly beautiful eyes Annabeth had were now looking at him not angrily but almost pleadingly.

Percy broke his gaze from the goddess, looking at the ground as he pushed back the memories of Annabeth's death.

"Why do you need us? We're just demigods. Don't you have immortal campers to deal with this stuff now?" He asked looking at Jason and Piper who grew a sudden interest in the marble floor.

"They are fully immortal and bound by ancient laws from direct interference." Zeus answered.

Percy glanced at his friends, "So you're about as useful as a one-legged guy in an ass-kicking contest these days, eh?" A loud laugh escaped the lips of the messenger god as most eyes turned to him.

"Sorry, he makes a good point."

Jason looked at Percy slightly angered by his words, "We help them in every way we can."

Percy sighed, "Yes, I really regret turning down immortality. It sounds fabulous, living forever as the useless guy in the bar fight."

Jason's face turned red with anger. He moved with unbelievable speed, his immortality enhancing his abilities as he grabbed Percy by the front of his uniform. He was about to punch him when the click of a gun froze him in his tracks.

"You've got three seconds to get your hands off our captain or you'll be enjoying the next decade of immortality in Tartarus."

Jason turned to find the barrels of not two but three guns aimed at his head from all sides. He slowly removed his hands from Percy's uniform and took a step back, his eyes looking at Frank with betrayal.

"Save it Jason. You haven't been by my side the past two years. Roman or not, Percy is like blood to me and I'll always back him."

Percy reached out to both sides and lowered the weapons of his two while glaring at his sister so she would do the same friends before turning to towards his father and giving him a look. The war god gave him an almost imperceptible nod before Percy turned back towards Zeus.

"I truly am sorry, but this isn't our problem anymore. We've got our own war to fight and despite what you Olympians believe, the lives of mortals are just as important as everyone else's."

Before Zeus could get another word in, Ares stood up

"As soldiers in a war, and my children, these four fall directly into my domain. Removing them from combat could alter the fate of the war. Since War is my domain and my domain alone, they are free to leave. No one, save the Fates themselves, can force me to let you use them for your own purposes." The war god snapped his fingers as Percy, Kylee, Frank and Clarisse all vanished from the throne room which erupted into chaos as shouts of protest for both sides turned furious.

The siblings reappeared inside the building in Afghanistan, their fellow mortal soldiers shaking their heads as their glazed eyes came back into focus.


End file.
